


Never doubt Tony Stark

by ChocolateAndRedbull



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Flash Thompson Bullies Peter Parker, Gen, Hurt Peter, Hurt Peter Parker, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Physical Abuse, Precious Peter Parker, Scared Peter Parker, Sick Peter, Sick Peter Parker, Sickfic, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, physical bully
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24277864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocolateAndRedbull/pseuds/ChocolateAndRedbull
Summary: Tony doesn’t care what the kid wears while he’s working.Until he should.OrPeter comes into the lab with a baseball hat pulled low over his face and Tony gets nervous
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Peter Parker, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 8
Kudos: 561





	Never doubt Tony Stark

Tony Stark wasn’t some kind of power tripped high school principal with a dress code. He frankly couldn’t give a rat’s ass what the kid wore. He was 16 and bound to make some stupid fashion choices and who was Tony to judge? It wasn’t like he walked around in pressed slacks and expensive button-downs his whole life.

So he chose not to mention it when the kid came into the lab after school with a pair of grey shorts, black hoodie and a baseball cap in 75 degree weather. Which wasn’t entirely out of place for the kid, as he never was very good at judging the temperature for the day. (“Mr Stark, I’m fine,” “Kid, your lips are turning blue, put on the damn jacket.”)

And Tony was used to seeing the kid work in a backwards baseball hat, he had to keep his mop of curls off of his face somehow. What does Tony care? The kid could come in in a pink tutu and Tony would still sit him in front a circuit board.

But today was different. Peter had been quiet when he came in, which was definitely not like him. He didn’t take off his hat, shake his hair out like a dog and replace it backwards. Peter sat at his desk, poking and prodding at a board full of wires with his hoodie sleeves still pulled down over his hands and his hat covering his face.

“Alright, kid, what’s with the getup?” Tony asked, swinging his chair around to face him. Or not face him, Tony had yet to see the kid’s face today. “Feeling shy?” he quipped.

“Huh? Uh, no, Mr Stark. Just a, a bad hair day is all, should probably get a haircut soon..”

“Buddy, I’ve seen you cut your own bangs with the kitchen scissors upstairs because they were annoying you, I think we can lose the hat, eh?” Tony said, frowning in suspicion at the kid’s reluctance. “You hiding a hicky under there or something?” he laughed, despite the uncomfortable feeling in his chest.

“No, I just-” but before the kid could come up with another excuse Tony stuck his hand out and whipped the hat off the kid’s head. 

Both men froze. 

Peter, his eyes firmly on his fingertips that were barely visible over the ends of his sleeves, tried to defend himself. “Mr Stark, it was just a bad hit on patrol last night, I swear! I’m fine, it’ll be gone tomorrow!”

Tony just took in the sight in front of him and took a calming breath. 

It didn’t work.

“Don’t lie to me,” he growled. “If that was from patrol it would have healed by now. This is fresh, this is- this is still bleeding!” 

Peter whimpered at the harshness of his mentor’s voice. “It’s fine,” he whispered.

Tony’s voice was hard but his touch soft as he reached out a finger to delicately turn the kid’s head towards the light. Peter’s left eye was dark purple and swollen almost completely shut, his nose had a huge gash across it that Tony knew he’d be lucky if they didn’t have to reset, blood still drying around his nostrils, and Tony could see the kid’s bottom lip was swollen with a small tooth-sized slit in it from where he bit down hard enough to draw blood. 

Tony gave the kid a once over. 

“Take off the hoodie.”

Peter looked like he was about to cry. “Mr Stark...”

“Take it off, Peter.”  
“I can’t,” the kid whispered. 

“What do you mean ‘you can’t’?” 

“I-I think my fingers are broken,” he breathed, tears finally sliding down his cheeks.

Tony inhaled sharply. “Right, we’re going to see Bruce, let’s go.”

Peter’s eyes widened as much as they could despite the swelling. “No! Mr Stark, we can’t- we can’t go to Dr Bruce Banner with a black eye!”

Tony scoffed before standing up straight. “Kid, don’t start calling him ‘Dr Bruce Banner’ now, I’ve seen you both working in your underwear at two in the afternoon.” He placed a hand on the kid’s back, about to tell him to move but drew his hand away when he winced. Tony caught the kid’s eye, “Just let him check you over, eh? I don’t want that nose to heal wrong.” 

Peter just nodded and wiped the tears from his cheeks with his sleeve. He stood up carefully and headed towards the elevator, Tony following behind and taking note of the kid’s stiff posture as he walked. 

———

“Right, Peter, any chance of getting that hoodie off? If not we’ll have to cut it and neither of us want to do that,” Bruce said, smiling kindly as he pushed his glasses further up his nose.

“Um, I-I’ll need some help,” he mumbled, not looking up from his lap. He used his good hand to pull his other arm as far into the sleeve as he could and Tony gently held it in place as the boy wiggled his way out of it, careful not to let it brush against his bruised face as it was pulled over his head. 

When Tony finally got a good look at the kid, now wearing just a tank top, he tried not to gasp. Peter’s fingers on his left hand were definitely broken, swollen to twice their size and bruised. Both his elbows were scraped and bloody and there was a huge bruise stretching down across his back.

“Aw, kid,” he murmured, as Peter avoided their gaze and swiped at his eyes with his good hand. 

“You can cut the shirt,” he mumbled, “I can’t st-stretch enough to take it off.”

“Let me try,” Tony murmured as he pulled it gently and maneuvered it around the kid’s body before pulling it off and throwing it on the chair behind him. Both he and Bruce winced at the bruises and scrapes littered across the kid’s back.

“I want names,” Tony growled.

“Just some kid from school, don’t-”

“A name, Peter,” Tony grunted.

“You can’t. It’ll blow our cover. It’ll be healed by morning, don’t worry about it, please,” Peter whimpered.

“And then what?” Tony spat. “He’ll do it again? I’ll make his family wish they were never born.” Tony was seething. The thoughts of someone being able to do something like that to his kid. The kid. His kid. 

“Mr Stark, you can’t,” Peter insisted. “If it was brought to the school or the cops, they’d need proof. Which we won’t have by morning. I’ll look as good as new tomorrow and then our case is gone. I think that’s why he does it. It never seems to show on me,” Peter said quietly.

Tony saw red and had to remind himself to not call the suit. “This has happened before.”

“Um, not really, uh, it was never really more than a black eye or a busted lip before today. But I, uh, I beat him out for the last spot on the academic decathlon team today. So, I think he’s pissed,” Peter stammered.

“Not if we act fast enough, Fri, I want every CCTV camera footage that has Peter in it since school let out today,” Tony ordered. “Bruce, I want your full medical report, with pictures and timestamps, as soon as possible, thanks,” Tony said, with a pat on the doctor’s back. Bruce just nodded where he was gathering supplies for a temporary splint for the kid’s fingers. 

Tony lifted the kid’s chin and looked him in the eye. “This is never happening again, buddy, I’ll make sure of it.”

Peter just nodded, wincing as the gash on his lip opened up again.

———

Peter would say he felt sorry for Flash Thompson after setting Tony after him, but the splint on his fingers still rubbed his palm weird and he decided he deserved it. After a process that should have taken weeks was cleared up in just one, Peter could finally turn a corner in the school hallways without a wince. He didn’t feel sick going into decathlon practice. He could finally relax for the first time since second grade. 

Tony needed all the information he could get his hands on before the process of looking for Flash to be expelled began. May, teary eyed and a defeated look on face explained that she had tried to get him punished since Peter’s first black eye in 3rd grade. But his uncle was the superintendent and it made him untouchable. Tony just smirked. “Not if I have anything to do with it.”

Peter hasn’t been there for the final decision, or much of it at all, Tony made sure of it. Tony always made sure that Peter and Happy were nearby, but not listening to the meetings. When May had come and found him on that last day, with tears in her eyes but a relieved smile on her face, Tony laughing triumphantly behind her. Peter felt like a weight had been taken off his chest. 

“You’re gonna be alright, kid,” he said, wrapping his arms around the smaller teen. “Just don’t go hiding anymore injuries from me, okay? I’m here to help.”

“I know, Mr Stark,” Peter said, voice muffled as he buried his face in his chest, “thank you.”


End file.
